Chapter 47: Rival Friends Meet on a Narrow Bridge (2)

A large, solid black carriage.

Four horses packed with lean muscle pulled it.

It was the carriage carrying Namgung Hyeong and Namgung Seon.

Namgung Hyeong and Namgung Seon were curt with each other on the way back, just like on the way there.

Even more so because of Namgung Seon’s defeat.

But Namgung Seon knew his father wasn’t the kind of man to be shaken by this.

He wouldn’t be able to lay a hand on Namgung Seon.

Instead, something would happen to Cheon Soyak.

So why did he not feel all that worried?

A father who was nothing more than an ordinary man—though he was still young—was thrashing about, declaring he would hunt a monster.

It was ridiculous.

Yeah. It had to be because it was ridiculous.

It was ridiculous even if you thought of an adult doing that to a child.

It was ridiculous even if you thought of a mere human doing that to a monster.

No matter how you looked at it, Namgung Hyeong had nothing to gain by going after Cheon Soyak.

And yet he ground his teeth like that.

Without even understanding it.

Namgung Seon simply left his father alone.

He wasn’t a man who would listen if you talked.

Then—

The carriage suddenly stopped.

“...Well, now.”

Strange.

To stop a Namgung Clan carriage?

There weren’t many people who could do that.

And this black ironwood carriage was reserved for the clan lord and the young clan lord.

If someone could stop this carriage...

At the very least, it would be a senior of the rivers-and-lakes—someone you owed respect to regardless of strength or authority.

Namgung Hyeong quietly stepped down from the carriage.

And faced him.

Flame-Saber Lord Ak Jupae, standing in the road, blocking the way.

A special-operations escort group of the One-Under-Heaven Corps.

A Unit Captain of the Heaven-Net Platform.

They said that when his Flame-Dragon Saber Canon came down once, it burned a radius of thirty zhang.

“It’s been a while, Namgung Hyeong.”

“How long has it been? Have you settled your heart?”

“No. I don’t know who the bastard is, but it’ll only settle after I burn him alive.”

“...Right. You liked how clever she was—how much you said she took after your wife.”

Ak Jupae’s face twisted, then he took a deep breath.

It wasn’t anger he should pour out on Namgung Hyeong, his old friend.

“So. Where are you going?”

“Mount Hua.”

“Jupae. Do you have business at Mount Hua?”

Not as a Unit Captain of the One-Under-Heaven Corps, but as a Unit Captain of the Heaven-Net Platform stepping out—

The Flame-Saber Lord was the kind of man you mobilized when you were going to erase a sect from the martial world.

It had often been that way since the days people called him the Flame-Saber General.

A martial warrior who was more loyal to the Alliance than anyone—someone you could trust and entrust things to.

“My niece is there. They say she went with only one guard.”

“Your younger sister married into the Jegal Clan, if I recall.”

“Yeah.”

Jang Yul, the Eye-Gap Severing Sword.

A Transcendent Apex master who created and completed the Cloud-Cleaving Sword Canon, a unique martial art.

But to him—someone who seemed to be nearing the threshold of entering the Transformation Realm—Jang Yul only looked insufficient.

He would be anxious.

It hadn’t been long since his son met a horrific death.

“And one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not a Unit Captain of the Heaven-Net Platform anymore.”

After that, he set down the work he’d been doing for the Martial Alliance.

Because a thought had come to him.

That he, too, had probably burned someone’s son—someone’s daughter—alive.

‘...But I can’t set revenge aside.’

Even if it became an eternal shackle of countless kalpas.

Even if it became an unbreakable chain of revenge, killing and being killed.

Ak Jupae could not withdraw his resolve for one last murder.

*****

“Sect Leader junior brother. Are you joking with me right now?”

Elder Jeonggang asked with a gentle smile.

But Sect Leader Jeongyang knew.

That smile was a warning and a threat—be soft while I’m still smiling at you.

Because when Elder Jeonggang did not smile...

That was only when he wore the face of the Mount Hua Sword Emperor, said to be the foremost among the Three Emperors.

Still—just because he was the Mount Hua Sword Emperor, did that mean his authority was higher than the Sect Leader of Mount Hua?

A hat could sometimes become the most powerful weapon in the real world.

More than anything, it was a hat Elder Jeonggang himself had kicked away with his own foot.

He surely never expected it to come back like this.

“Isn’t it true, Elder Brother Jeonggang? By custom, we’ve always done this.”

Jeongyang was grinning too.

Jeonggang’s expression finally hardened.

But this was not something he could simply do anything about.

It wasn’t a decision that depended on the force of one man.

It was a decision that depended on the Sect Leader’s authority.

And if he overturned it with his own hands...

That, too, could never be called a good thing for Mount Hua.

“So. You’re saying you’ll put a girl who’s only fourteen—who’s been here one month—on a Roaming Pillar journey.”

“With sword skill like that, do you think she can’t survive wherever she goes? Elder Brother worries too much.”

Roaming Pillar.

It meant wandering the Nine Provinces under heaven with not a single coin in your pocket.

Mount Hua was a Taoist sect.

But what use was Taoism cut off from the secular world?

If a Taoist priest wanted to gain teachings from the world, and give them back, he had to know what the world looked like.

That was why every Mount Hua disciple went through at least one Roaming Pillar journey.

But even so, it was never easy.

Within Shaanxi, no one would dare touch someone wearing clothes embroidered with plum blossoms.

But outside was different.

And Roaming Pillar was only recognized from the moment you stepped beyond Shaanxi.

The smile did not leave Jeongyang’s lips.

Namgung Hyeong—who had so weakly broken his promise—had left him this as the “final method.”

After that, Jeongyang would handle it himself.

He didn’t know the organization’s exact size or purpose...

But just as he—once Sect Leader of Mount Hua—had used it to gather Cheonju and Cheonhwa,

Namgung would surely have its own organization for carrying out dark, secret work.

“She’s young, so it’s right to set the Roaming Pillar journey short and clear. Yes... I’m thinking of sending her to the Shandong Ak Family. What do you think, Elder Brother?”

“...Isn’t that far?”

“It’s better than sending her to Kunlun, isn’t it?”

Jeongyang grinned.

A vein stood out on Jeonggang’s forehead.

But Jeongyang was the Sect Leader, and by custom, the winner of the One-Branch Gathering always set out on a Roaming Pillar journey.

The problem was that Soyak was fourteen.

If Cheonjeong had won, or if Cheonju had won, there would be no issue.

Those two were seventeen.

At that age, in this harsh Central Plains, you were treated as nearly an adult.

You were expected to take whatever came, and even if you slept rough while wandering, it was less worrying.

But Soyak was a girl of only fourteen.

No matter what, once you strapped on a sword you were a martial artist without exception, but...

A fourteen-year-old girl was too frightening a thing to throw out into a brutal world.

Even more so if she was a disciple who’d entered only one month ago.

“...Then add conditions.”

“You know I can’t send Eunsong, Elder Brother. He’s Soyak’s master.”

“I know. Instead, I’ll attach three more of Eunsong’s disciples to go with her.”

Jeongyang shook his head.

“Two.”

“Jeongyang. Must it truly be so?”

“If you don’t like it, then don’t.”

*****

Ahwa Hall.

After all training ended, a corridor just before bedtime.

“Cheongu. Can I get a sword like that from your father’s merchant house too?”

“A sword hammered out of nothing but Black Iron—do you even know how much that costs? Talk like a sane person.”

Cheongak stared at Cheonjeong’s sword, practically drooling.

It was the Black Iron Sword Soyak had given him.

Now it looked like it was being treated almost like the Third Generation Head Senior’s sacred relic.

Cheonjeong was clearly enjoying the benefits too.

In the morning, they sought teachings from their own masters, and in the afternoon, they trained together on Ahwa Hall’s training ground.

Cheonjeong, as Head Senior, stood up on the platform and led everyone.

But unbelievably...

Just because he wore the Black Iron Sword at his waist, the way people treated him changed.

Even the ones who never listened widened their eyes and followed.

The scatterbrained younger junior brothers were the same.

“Is it really that tempting, Cheongak?”

“Head Senior. I want it so bad I’m barely holding myself back.”

A smile spread across Cheonjeong’s face.

It seemed teasing Cheongak was quite fun.

“Do you know something?”

“What is it?”

“You look exactly like that. That’s why it’s so fun to tease you.”

“ARGH!”

Cheongak couldn’t hold it in and hopped in place in frustration.

Cheongu was trying hard to calm him down.

Cheonju and Cheonhwa were quiet.

Or rather, Cheonju was tending to Cheonhwa, who had become overly quiet.

She’d clearly been lively and bright, with a personality that was even a bit rude—

But ever since leaving under Eun Byeok and coming under Eunsong, she’d been like that.

“So, Soyak. How did the Purple Firmament Pellet taste?”

“...Taste?”

Cheonjeong smiled and nodded.

Everyone was wearing comfortable sleepwear instead of martial robes.

Soyak was the same.

“There wasn’t any special taste. It was sweet, with a plum fragrance.”

“Like, a taste so amazing even the spirits of heaven and earth would be moved?!”

“It wasn’t, Cheongak.”

That was when it happened.

From outside Ahwa Hall, they heard Master Eunsong’s voice.

“Why are you all still up!”

It wasn’t a shout.

He had only raised his voice a bit.

In truth, it wasn’t even bedtime yet, so it was little more than a polite call.

If he said it like this, it meant he wasn’t going to barge in abruptly.

If there was something to hide, it was consideration—hide it quickly.

This place was packed with teenagers...

And exposing everything too brightly wasn’t good for children.

“Master Eunsong?”

Soyak tilted her head, looking up at Eunsong as he entered.

Eunsong beckoned, calling his disciples together.

Then he let out a sigh first.